Lou Cheng talked no more but lowered his body and shifted left and right to approach Wu Dong.
After three weeks of martial arts practice, he had mastered basic and simple moves and could put them into practice. Although he hadn't come to complicated techniques, he could observe and imitate, which differentiated humans from animals.
Facing Wu Dong, an opponent much stronger than himself, Lou Cheng subconsciously longed to do better. Chen Changhua's meandering footwork of a terrifying snake in the combat with Lin Que came to his mind.
Comparing to Chen Changhua at that time, Lou Cheng was new to this footwork with little control over subtle movements. However, his grasp of Yin-Yang Stance had strengthened coordination of his body and concentration of his mind. In a semi-meditation, he delicately shifted his weight with ease. When his body leaned to the left, his weight was kept slightly to the right and vice versa. Virtuality and reality could hardly be separated apart and his actual target became unclear.
The experienced martial artist Wu Dong felt cornered. Chen Changhua’s snake footwork usually had an opening for him to predict and prepare in their previous combat practice. However, he didn’t have a clue when would this martial arts beginner approach. One second he thought for sure he was going for his right but then next he felt unsure about it.
"Is he a beginner of three weeks' training?"
"Has he been playing weak to prey on us?"
Hesitation would bring destruction in combat. With rich actual combat experience from several ranking events, Wu Dong understood this principle thoroughly and had always been sticking to it until that moment, when he felt unable to respond to Lou Cheng's coming close.
If in his normal form, Wu Dong would play on his strength and move about until he saw through the snake footwork. But tired and out of breath as he was at that moment, moving about would be courting death.
Well, all he could do was to play defense!
Wu Dong got in the fighting stance, awaiting Lou Cheng's approach.
Lou Cheng seemed delighted with Wu Dong's careful play as it was exactly what he expected!
Before Wu Dong revealed himself, Lou Cheng had planned to wear those two troublemakers out with his running prowess and then kick their ass. As soon as he spotted Wu Dong, he slowed down on purpose to lure them into more running to further exhaust them. He remembered the master once mentioned that Wu Dong had wasted his body on smoke, booze and women. Suffering severe lung malfunction, he couldn't recover fast once he tired out.
In this state, Wu Dong could no longer bring out his strong points, like agility, speed, and guerrilla hit and sneak attack, and would be forced into a defensive stance.
Lou Cheng shifted his weight and took a big step forward to Wu Dong's right side. His strength sprung from his feet to his right hand through his entire body and formed a metal hammer around his fist. Lou Cheng threw a powerful punch at Wu Dong.
Phew...
The punch went forward with wind. Wu Dong failed to detect the actual target of the snake footwork and missed the best time to respond. He secured his body thoroughly and wielded both hands, one guarding and the other blocking, to receive Lou Cheng's right punch.
As their hands collided, Lou Cheng didn't feel overwhelmed at all and realized that Wu Dong was still short of breath after the run. To be fair, this martial artist of Amateur Second Pin was slightly on the downside.
To push his advantage, Lou Cheng stepped his right foot forward to block Wu Dong's advance while throwing a blast punch with his left hand at Wu Dong's stomach.
Unable to dodge, Wu Dong had to take another heavy strike with his body.
Bang!
As Lou Cheng's punch hit Wu Dong, he pulled strength from his feet and turned sideways to launch an elbow hit.
Considering Wu Dong’s current situation, Lou Cheng must stick to a close melee to take advantage of his weakness at close engagement, and thus he would win this fight while Wu Dong was still short of breath.
Once the fight turned into a skirmish fight, Wu Dong would take the chance to catch his breath.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few bouts passed but Wu Dong didn't leave Lou Cheng any good opportunity, thanks to his years of martial arts training.
He again and again warded off Lou Cheng's attacks with his hands. Finally, Lou Cheng noticed a slight lean backward of Wu Dong's body.
As if a rock finally loosened in the storm!
Wu Dong was running out of strength!
"Take his life when he's down!" Lou Cheng thought as he strengthened his waist, coordinated the tiniest parts of his body and adjusted his weight before throwing another punch.
Bang!
Wu Dong collapsed and staggered backward. To kill Lou Cheng's attempt of throwing another punch, he dived down to the ground and rolled to the side.
Seeing him rolling on the ground, Lou Cheng was thrilled. He had forced Wu Dong of Amateur Second Pin to roll on the ground! A victory was one step away!
He slid closer and intended to end the fight with a whip kick like what Lin Que did.
At this very moment, Wu Dong showed a squint. He grabbed some dust with his left hand and threw it at Lou Cheng.
It was completely to Lou Cheng's surprise. He acted on instinct, closing his eyes and covering his face with his left hand. His body turned sideways.
Things happened too fast. As dust got into his eyes, Lou Cheng felt sore and couldn't keep them open. All was hurry and confusion. His head was empty and indeed at a loss.
Bang!
Lou Cheng felt pain on his back from a heavy punch. He then lost his balance and staggered forward, about to fall. The familiar situation and experience made him start to meditate by instinct, subtly adjusting his body and shifting weight.
One at peace had a clear mind. During the fall, Lou Cheng resumed his ability to think. He realized how little combat experience he had and forced himself to stay calm in front of Wu Dong's series of attacks.
The Jindan (the Golden Elixir) rotated slowly and the nebula shrank and expanded. His muscles acted coordinately, and adjustments took place naturally. Lou Cheng staggered a few big steps until the balance was restored.
Meanwhile, he took steps toward different directions to get away from Wu Dong's strikes from behind.
Lou Cheng's feet finally stabilized, but his eyes still hurt badly. Tears ran down along his face as if he was crying from the fight. Surrounded by utter blackness, Lou Cheng had no idea from which direction Wu Dong would launch the next attack. Moreover, he didn't hit the vital part of the two rogues so they could maybe rejoin the fight at any second.
Calm...
Calm!
Lou Cheng quickly made up his mind. Focusing on the process of water concreting into ice, he felt his thoughts also concreting into ice and his senses became extraordinarily sharp.
Ice Sect's Condensation Stance!
Everything seemed calm and peaceful. While the Yin-Yang Stance emphasized the subtle feeling within oneself, the Condensation Stance was all about the surroundings. A gentle breeze along with a light patter of feet sounded in his ears, and a faint fragrance of alcohol prevailed in the air.
In a trance, Lou Cheng’s ear sensed someone coming from the left.
While maintaining his composure, Lou Cheng lifted his hands into a defensive pose and waited patiently for his vision to recover.
A heavy breath came to his ear. His focus turned to a silver flash of lightning shooting down to a tree and starting a fierce fire.
Thunder Sect's Lightning and Fire Stance!
The emergence of fire and lightning triggered his muscles to wiggle. Lou Cheng’s tailbone was warmly numb and his body became heavy. A hot stream flew along his spine through his waist down to his left leg as if struck by a lightning bolt, blocking all his pores and preparing for a terrifying explosion.
His left leg launched a powerful kick without warning.
Bang!
Lou Cheng knew his kick landed on something—probably a bone—before a horrible scream came from the ground.
"Got it..." He kept calm without lowering his guard. Lou Cheng raised one hand to rub his eyes. Tears had finally got the dust out and his vision was restored.
From blur and dim to clearness was the image of Wu Dong wallowing in dust with pain in his thigh. The short-haired youth and the tattooed man were still on the ground, gradually recovering from the earlier punches.
"Phew... Actual combat is very different from pair exercise…" Lou Cheng heaved a sigh of relief when the ache became clear on his back.
Had he not achieved inward vision through Yin-Yang Stance and Jindan, sharpened his senses and concentration through Condensation Stance or mastered the sudden intense burst of Lightning and Fire Stance, he would have been clobbered by the well experienced Wu Dong!
The keys of Yin-Yang Stance, Condensation Stance and Lightning and Fire Stance seemed simple, as if anyone could do it. However, as the basic stance training of the Thunder Sect and Ice Sect, they surely had their own difficulties—how to reach peace, how to focus and what to focus on. Without explanation and guidance on these matters, possibly only one out of a thousand students was talented enough to master them simply according to their description.
The basic of all the basics, Yin-Yang Stance was all about how to reach peace, how to focus, how to Remain in One and how to focus on one. Geezer Shi taught them this during their very first session and then spent three weeks to guide them through it and correct their mistakes. Yet, only Yan Zheke and Lou Cheng himself could achieve peace by focusing on one. Guo Qing, Li Mao and Sun Jian were not there yet, whereas Lin Que wasn't new to this.
After this thrilling and intense combat, Lou Cheng's stance training and fighting moves had reached a new level of integration and harmony. The level of his martial arts skills was unclear.
As Lou Cheng began to relax, fear came to his mind. His momentary hot blood and gallantry had pushed him into this fight but worries quickly grew once his Qi and blood calmed down. He could be punished by the University for this or even be locked away if their injuries were severe.
Fortunately, he didn't go for the two rogues' vital parts and although Lou Cheng couldn't see or control, his final kick at Wu Dong shouldn't be too bad as Wu Dong was still wallowing and rubbing his leg.
The saying "warriors break rules with violence" was so true... Lou Cheng packed away his concerns and remained placid as he turned to Wu Dong with a smile.
"Senior Brother Wu, you are in your final year, aren't you?"
Holding tight on his leg, Wu Dong looked up at Lou Cheng blankly. This freshman, calm and mature, had gone straight for his weak point without any trepidation. Recalling the swiftness of his last kick and the calmness when he lost his vision, Wu Dong no longer believed the information he had on Lou Cheng.
Under Lou Cheng's gaze, Wu Dong looked away.
"Is it still that unripe freshman?"
"Is it still the same dude who was in a tearing hurry during the pair exercise three weeks ago?"
For the very first time, Wu Dong started to doubt his brain. With no special admission for martial arts talents, all students in Songcheng University who enrolled in martial arts were fairly smart. However, the contradiction between Lou Cheng's previous performance and his current level completely messed up Wu Dong's cognition of the world.
"Am I in a dream?"
Staring at the stunned Wu Dong, Lou Cheng heaved a breath of relief before putting on a profound tone. "The campus recruitment will start in October, Brother Wu. I'm surprised you can still find time to hang out with these two rogues. Thank you anyway for your instructions earlier, a great push for my martial arts progress."
Campus recruitment fairs were mostly held in the first term of the school year for the senior students with very few exceptions happening during the second term. Lou Cheng was implying Wu Dong had better take this fight like a martial arts practice and put his mind on job hunting. Being involved in a fight where two rogues attempted to bully a freshman wasn't something he would want to blow up at this point of his university life. However, when it came to Lou Cheng the freshman, if that got public he would very likely be praised for standing up against the bully or at worse be given some disciplinary measure which would probably be written off by the time he became a senior.
After a good moment of thought, Wu Dong said sternly, "Junior Lou, you've improved a lot, ready to replace the old. I'm glad to offer you some instructions. No big deal."
Often in touch with ancient stuff, martial arts practitioners inclined to talk in a classic, traditional manner.
"Thank you very much, Brother Wu," said Lou Cheng with a relaxed smile as he bowed slightly. After a quick glance at the two rogues, he resumed his running steps.
Once the matter was settled on Wu Dong's side, Lou Cheng felt relieved. He didn't give a damn about the two rogues since they wouldn't have the balls to take revenge on the campus of the best university in the city. Also, they wouldn't have the time and effort to wait for Lou Cheng outside as that was only a fight after all. Once the fever went away, trouble would only take place upon rare encounters.
Watching Lou Cheng running by them quickly and lightly with a refreshing breeze, the short-haired youth and the tattooed man were filled with astonishment and helplessness.
"Holy cow! He's a real runner!" said the short-haired youth as if a UFO just flew by.
"He gotta be a monster..." muttered the tattooed man as he rubbed his eyes.
More fear for this inhuman monster developed in their minds.
...
Back to the dorm, Lou Cheng didn't feel like queuing up for the shower. Instead, he had a quick rinse in their bathroom. Thanks to the rich kid Qin Mo, their private lavatory had a water pipe, a showerhead, and even a washing machine. Qin Mo himself probably used it just once in the past considering his rare presence in the dorm. Their counselor never came to the living quarters. It had been two months into the term, and Lou Cheng saw him only four times in total. A few student leaders were enough for the management as nothing major could happen on this closed campus.
Walking out of the bathroom in fresh clothes while drying his hair, Lou Cheng bumped into Cai Zongming, who was watching a martial arts match in the living room.
"Hey, Cheng! Where did you go? What took you so long? Did you succeed? In the grove?" asked Cai Zongming, winking excitedly for some hot gossip.
Lou Cheng paused to think before answering with another question, "What do you think?"
"I think... Not yet. The revolution is not yet completed, and you must struggle on. Your goddess doesn't look like an easy target, or it won't be your turn. However, constant dropping will wear away a stone. Keep your good deeds up and your tomorrow is bright. It's no news that a fresh flower is being stuck on a heap of cow dung. A blind cat will meet a dead rat in the end." Cai Zongming's encouragement sounded more like a jest.
Lou Cheng stared at him and took a seat on the couch. Before he leaned to the backrest, a sharp pain came from his back, sending a chill down his throat.
Wu Dong was not bad!
"Little Ming, help massage my bruises," said Lou Cheng as he stood up to head back to his room. Bruises on his back needed help from someone else.
"Err?" Cai Zongming looked at a loss. "Were you beaten up by your goddess for trying too hard?"
"What the heck is wrong with your head?" Lou Cheng said roughly.
In Lou Cheng's bedroom, Zhao Qiang was working on his homework, trying to cool himself down from the pleasant boat trip with Zhuang Xiaojun this afternoon. Zhang Jingye had got Pan Xue's QQ number during the meetup and was busy digging gossip about her roommates while watching a movie. Qiu Zhigao, standing by the window and gazing at the street lamps, was deeply lost in thought.
Lou Cheng stopped himself from laughing and returned to the living room with the bottle of ointment given to him by Yan Zheke. He passed the bottle to Cai Zongming before taking a seat with his t-shirt off, revealing his bruised back.
"Holy crap! What did you do?" Cai Zongming was confused and shocked.
"I was walking Yan Zheke back to her dorm. Thrilled by the big progress we made today, I was unable to calm down. So I went to the lake for some standing stance practice," explained Lou Cheng honestly.
Cai Zongming sneered while opening the bottle. "Are you a lost brother of Qiang's? He's seeking calmness within his homework, and you went for standing stance by the lake to calm yourself down. Ha-hah. Young girls suffer from the spring fever. So do the boys. Hmm... Very horny!"
Lou Cheng ignored his tease and continued. "I ran into three rogues and had a fight."
"No wonder." Cai Zongming poured some ointment into his hand and then spread it gently on Lou Cheng's bruised back. "The martial arts training has lent you balls. Were you bullied?"
As the chill penetrated into the bruise, the ache was relieved. Lou Cheng showed a squint out of comfort and said, "No. I put down all three of them."
"Good job, bro! Three weeks of martial arts training only. Did Geezer Shi teach you something incredible in secret?" Cai Zongming laid down the bottle on the couch and started to put forth his strength to rub the ointment, making Lou Cheng grimace in pain, "Any idea which department are they from? We can't leave it like this."
"Wu Dong, from the Martial Arts Club," said Lou Cheng easily with a gentle cough.
"Wu Dong, from the Martial Arts Club. So we can go back with Old Qiu. Wait! Wu Dong from the Martial Arts Club? Wu Dong the senior?" Cai Zongming raised his voice and lost control over his strength, almost causing Lou Cheng to jump with pain.
"Damn! Bad timing for playing cool..." Lou Cheng regretted deeply, "Yeah. The one who recruited us into the club."
Cai Zongming froze. "Cheng, don't trick me."
"If you could defeat Wu Dong, I would challenge Lin Que!"
Lou Cheng tried to conceal his pride, "Seriously, Wu Dong has wasted his body on smoke, booze and girls. I ran away immediately upon seeing the three of them. Then, they were all exhausted and I went back. Wu Dong was really good. He almost kicked my ass."
Cai Zongming came to realization and continued to rub Lou Cheng's bruises, "I knew it! You're not a match for Wu Dong normally. But being able to defeat him and two more rogues... You must be at least of Amateur Ninth Pin now?"
"Brother Li Mao said I was getting there," answered Lou Cheng calmly.
"Three weeks only and you are of Amateur Ninth Pin now..." Cai Zongming remained silent for a while before putting on a dramatic voice, "Coach, I want to join the special training!"
Lou Cheng laughed. "Talking suits you better."
Cai Zongming weaved a sigh while rubbing Lou Cheng's bruises. "Honestly, I'm surprised to see how big a progress you have made. Your great effort for the martial arts club's dream has touched me. The last time I was this serious was when I was after my current girlfriend."
"Come if you really want!" Lou Cheng turned to the TV where the Shizhou School was fighting against the Guanwai League in a Professional Martial Arts Competition. The two teams were both of the top level and specialized in body forging. Besides the metallic shine on their skin was their recovery capability. Seemingly they would never be exhausted and no wound would stay on their body.
Cai Zongming laughed mirthlessly. "I'm just a talker. As much as I want to train with you guys, I just can't give up my sleeping and game hours."
"How did you practice martial arts before?" Lou Cheng found it hard to imagine how Cai Zongming made it before.
Cai Zongming was done rubbing. He tapped Lou Cheng on his shoulder and complimented. "All firm and tight now. How did I? The son of the richest man in my hometown was kidnapped and killed, even though the family paid a fortune. Fear spread quickly through the city. My parents, who have a decent income, were so worried that they sent me to learn martial arts. All martial arts clubs were in great business those years."
"So you need supervision. By the way, did they catch those kidnappers?" asked Lou Cheng, full of curiosity.
"Sure. The Martial Arts Management Office of the Police Department sent down a unit and had those villains killed in the mountain by random shots. I heard their bodies were torn apart..." Cai Zongming recalled an old tragedy from his hometown.
While chatting, Lou Cheng logged in his QQ and sent a smiley to Yan Zheke.
"What a great day!"
Thousands of words and tons of thrill and joy were concentrated into this sentence.
The Martial Arts Competition ended with a narrow victory from Shizhou School. Lou Cheng went back to his room and finally received a smile from Yan Zheke. "Likewise."
The short reply sent a touch of warmth to Lou Cheng.
Yan Zheke continued. "I was watching the Shizhou School's match. Lion King is still the same mighty like years ago when we were little."
The "Lion King" Shang Youde, the No. 1 martial artist of the Shizhou School was close to his 50s. With six titles, including the king title "Lion King", he had always been a great master and idol in Lou Cheng's memory.
"Hah... I watched it as well! But only got the second half of it. Had a combat by the lake earlier." Lou Cheng couldn't wait to share with Yan Zheke his practical fight.
Due to the defect of her body, she, a fanatical martial arts fan, must be interested in this kind of story.
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